


There is a Reason

by pichu10176



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Action, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Merry Christmas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-26 16:48:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17145422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pichu10176/pseuds/pichu10176
Summary: Before the Phantom Thieves fought Yaldabaoth, they kept getting intercepted along the way by Shadows. However, they saw one of their old enemies fighting alongside the angels and it caught them off guard.He died...right?





	There is a Reason

“Careful!” Oracle shouted and everyone paused to look for the enemy. They tightened their grip on their weapons.

 

“Enemy incoming! It’s pretty dangerous…!”

 

A Shadow burst from the ground and transformed into a blond angel. It wore blood red armor that covered it’s whole body with a white tunic and a gold cross over it. “Absconding from your cells is forbidden. Return to your prison posthaste. Those who wish to disturb society shall be slain on the very spot they stand.”

 

“You're the one who's disturbing it!” Panther yelled at the creature.

 

“Dissenters must be destroyed.” It said while ignoring her.

 

“It's useless trying to reason with this guy. Let’s beat him and break through here!” Mona said.

 

They all charged at the guy.

 

“Let’s test to see if he has any weakness! Mona, go first!” Joker said.

 

Mona used Garu. It was weak, but safe move, especially if the Shadow heals from it or reflect the attack back at them.

 

It did minimal damage but he isn’t resistant to the attack so that’s a plus. Good to know if they were able to spam Garudyne on the enemy.

 

It glared at them and held it’s sword with both hands, while pointing it to the sky. “I am the Herald of Death, Uriel, and I call upon the people who wish to be ruled over. Lend me your strength!”

 

Two Angels quickly appeared beside Uriel.

 

 _‘If I remember correctly, they were weak against curse and resistant to bless.’_ Joker thought. ‘ _Easy Shadows to deal with.’_

 

He summoned a Persona and used Meiga on his enemies while telling Fox to use his ice magic against Uriel. Both Angels quickly fell to the attack as Uriel charged at the Phantom Thieves with his sword, Fox’s attack barely slowly him down.

 

“Bloodbath!” It cried out as swung it’s sword horizontally at the Phantom Thieves. Everyone managed to dodged it except for Skull. A few cried out his name as the attack managed to knock him off his feet. Noir quickly casted Makarakarn so he won’t get further injured by a physical attack.

 

He slowly stood up, shivering as his arm that was holding his weapon trembled.

 

“Oh no! Skull got inflicted with Fear, someone help him!” Oracle cried out.

 

Panther stood next to him and slapped him hard with her paper fan.

 

 _‘Dang, she might still be unconsciously holding onto that grudge.’_ Joker grimaced.

 

Ryuji ate her dessert when she had to go to the restroom a few days ago. She apparently was waiting a long time to go to a new cafe with them and wanted to try the recommended dessert. So it was kind of understandable that she got mad at Ryuji over that.

 

She managed to knock him back onto the ground with the force of her attack. It would have been funny if the situation wasn’t so serious. She quickly casted heal while Fox stood in front, diligently guarding over them as she completed her task.

 

“Ugh, thanks.” Skull gave her a grin as his injury faded away. He didn’t seem to notice that she smack him so hard that he dropped back down.

 

Panther weakly grinned and offered her hand and Skull gratefully took it.

 

“It’s payback time.” He grinned as he stared at their enemies.

 

Uriel charged at them while Panther was busy picking Skull back up, Fox ran to intercept it midway to prevent it from casting an area attack that would hit Panther and Skull. Their swords met with a loud sound, the metal grinding against one another. While Fox was a strong person, he was built more towards speed than strength. If this was going to be a battle with power, Fox wouldn’t be able to last long.

 

Fox suddenly moved sideways, his katana leaving the fierce clash with the shadow’s sword and he spun gracefully to the side of the shadow and swung his katana at the shadow.

 

His attack managed to wound Uriel on the arm.

 

“Skull, do it!” Joker yelled across the field while the shadow was distracted by his injury. Fox quickly retreated to the Phantom Thieves and Skull gave a deadly grin.

 

“Okay! **Captain Kidd!** Mazionga!” His Persona casted a lightning spell and it quickly striked the entire area. The Angels were still alive surprisingly, but looked exhausted now. It should only take a few more attacks for them to disappear.

 

“Let’s keep going, Panther!”

 

“ **Carmen!** Maragion!”

 

Uriel dodged the attack, but the Angels got hit full forced. They remained half laying on the floor, their wings burnt by the attack and couldn’t fully support their weight anymore.

 

“Your faith to your ruler is weak. Very well, give me your strength so I can oppose these pests!”

 

One of the Angels weakly looked at Uriel before putting its hands together to cast a spell. All of the scratches and faint wounds on Uriel disappeared, the other Angel’s wounds seemed to disappear as well...however, it seemed that the spell forced all of the wounds to transfer onto it. It crumpled onto the ground, it’s fingers barely even twitching.

 

“How awful!” Noir gasped.

 

It was a sad sight to see. Joker couldn’t help but to pity the shadow. He raised his hand to his face and summoned a weak curse at it, releasing the shadow from its pain.

He looked at Queen and she nodded before summoning her Persona and casted a nuclear spell.

 

 _‘Dang, looks like this is going to be the hard way if Noir’s spells isn’t effective._ ’ He thought.

 

Joker half-heartedly casted a bless spell just in case this shadow was one of those weird ones who was weak against their own element, but alas, no such luck.

 

It looked at Joker and called out Deathbound. Luckily only Fox and Mona were next to him and their agility made them easily dodge the attack.

 

“Noir now!”

 

“ **Milady!** Mapsio!”

 

Yup, the shadow has no weakness. This is going to be a long battle. Well they have to get rid of that Angel first before concentrating on taking down Uriel or else the battle will never progress. Hopefully they could take him down before he summons another set of helpers.

 

“Incoming, there are shadows coming from behind us!”

 

Joker narrowed his eyes. He was hoping he could use everyone to take down Uriel before backup arrived, but he guessed he was being too optimistic.

 

“Panther, Fox, Mona. Focus on taking those guys down. Oracle! Prioritize your support with that team. I can assist with the buffs in my team.”

 

“Roger that leader! Let’s go everyone!” Oracle yelled from her spaceship leading them to their enemies. Their numbers were cut in half, but they were able to work more efficiently with a smaller group. There were less chances of someone’s attack hitting another teammate.

 

Joker told everyone to save their magic and shift their actions onto physical attacks as he concentrated his attention on taking down the last Angel. He quickly casted Eiha on it and it’s wings finally gave out. It layed on the floor, collapsed from the attack and he quickly ran to it and dug his dagger deep into the shadow’s neck. He barely gave the disappearing shadow a lingering glance to see how his teammates were doing against Uriel. He noticed that the creature received a few deep wounds while he was busy with the last Angel, probably as a courtesy from Skull. The shadow looked more and more frustrated as the battle continued. It saw that it was being overwhelmed by the amount of people and attacks it has to defend against.

 

It managed to distance itself from them by casting Deathbound followed by a Megidola. It was a close call but everyone managed to get away in time before they received any severe injuries.

 

Noir frowned as she looked at the cuts on her thigh and arm. Joker threw her one of his healing items, trying to get everyone to save their magic for only offense attacks.

 

“I ask once more, the people who wish to be ruled over. Lend me your strength!”

 

Those Angels appear once again.

 

Dang they paused too long to recover from the attack.

 

“Ruler, please assist me by loaning your strongest servant so I can get rid of these pests.”

 

A bright light appeared from the shadow.

 

Joker narrowed his eyes as he readjusted his hand on his dagger. Who is this strongest servant? They are taking awhile getting rid of one archangel. If they have to fight another one alongside with Uriel, they are going to take even longer trying to fight safely so they won’t avoid making any mistakes. Joker casted Marakukaja in the meantime as they waited to see what’s happening.

 

“You might have fought him once before, but with our strengths combined, we will take you down easily.” Uriel gave a smirk.

 

The shadow who was standing behind Uriel finally moved to stand beside it. However, it wasn’t a shadow.

 

“Crow?!”

 

He was wearing his black striped outfit with his black helmet covering his face. The crack of the black mask he received during the battle with the Phantom Thieves has disappeared.

 

“Why are you helping Yaldabaoth? He’s trying to take away everyone’s free will!” Queen shouted at him.

 

Crow looked at them silently as he raised his sword at them and prepared his battle stance. Didn’t he realized that he was wrong in the end? Didn’t they reached an understanding before he closed the gate to challenge his cognitive self? Akira held his promise and Shido got convicted... but the public doesn’t care. Does Akechi think that by working with Yaldabaoth, he could change the public's opinion about the case? His original objective was to make Shido feel disgraced and humiliated when the public find out about his crimes. Seeing as how that didn't work, did Akechi adjusted his plans in the end? It’s been a month since they last saw him. Why couldn't he just join the Phantom Thieves then? Did he still not trust them?

 

Joker felt guilty. Was it the lack of success that made Akechi turned to Yaldabaoth? ...was this his fault? He resisted the urge to tug his hair.

 

“No time to talk, they’re coming straight at us!” Skull yelled as they barely dodge from Uriel and Crow’s combined attacks.

 

Joker wanted to yell out his name, but he doesn’t know how that would affect the public’s cognition of Akechi so he bit his tongue and tried getting his attention again by using his code name.

 

Crow rushed at them again, oddly, still remaining quiet. He’s usually a talkative person, even when he was their enemy. Joker wonders why he isn’t giving some type of speech, lecture, or even taunting them like he normally does? Could he be charmed, brainwashed, or something of the like? He narrowed his eyes and looked over to Noir.

 

“Noir, cast Amrita Shower on Crow!” He wasn’t sure what kind of spell Crow was under and finding specific items and throwing them at him would take too much time, time they didn’t have.

 

“A-alright! **Milady!** Amrita Shower!”

 

The spell landed on Crow, but his sword was still raised against them.

 

“It didn’t work?” Noir said.

 

“Foolish human, the ruler’s spell won’t be broken that easily.” So he was right. It was a spell, Akechi wasn’t doing this out of his free will. It made him feel somewhat relieved.

 

Joker glared at Uriel. “What do you mean?”

 

“He wished for this.”

 

“What?”

 

“He regretted and wanted to forget about his past mistakes. We granted it for him. He has forgotten everything now.” The shadow’s face remained stoic, but there was a shine of amusement in his eyes.

 

“You just twisted his wishes into something you can take advantage of!”

 

“It is the cost for praying to the Gods.”

 

It was no use talking to the shadow. This is worse compared to when he’s working with Shido! Joker clenched onto his dagger tightly. He can’t wait to take this pompous creature down and free Crow from their clutches.

 

“ **Loki**...Megidolaon.” As the spell took affect and blasted the area. The Phantom Thieves didn’t expect the attack and didn’t dodge in time. Joker, being the closest to Crow, took the most damage. He fell backwards, his left hand reached out, trying to lessen the impact of the fall. Pain traveled from his hand and up his arm. Crap, he hoped that he didn’t fracture his hand or worse.

 

“Servant, take out their leader first.” Uriel demanded.

 

“Yes sir.” He said monotonously as he walked towards Joker. Crow raised his saw tooth blade against Joker’s neck as he stared impassively at Joker. He heard from the distance his teammates yelling his name, but he ignored them to concentrate on Crow. The faint sounds of attacks could be heard of the angels and the Phantom Thieves fighting against one another.

 

“...Crow.” Joker whispered desperately. He tried to see if Crow was able to recognize him now that they were a few feet apart from one another, but Crow’s eyes continued to remain blank.

 

“It’s me, Akira.” He ignored the blade that was a few millimeters from his neck and removed his mask to stare at Crow without anything covering his face. He hopes...no he _needs_ Crow to remember. They have went through so much together, their bond would basically be considered unbreakable. No brainwashing or memory erasing could get rid of it so easily.

 

Crow’s mouth tightened, he opened his mouth briefly before closing it. Joker’s heart leapt, does he remember? He swallowed, feeling Crow’s sword temporary digging a little deeper into his throat from the action. He concentrated on paying close attention to the details on Crow’s face. With his black mask still on his face, he could only really see the bottom half of his face.

 

Crow wasn’t attacking yet, this must have triggered something in his head. Joker waited in anticipation on what he was going to do next.

 

“You...feel familiar. I don’t know why. I don’t think I’ve met you before.” Crow finally said. His left hand relaxed a bit, the sword didn’t dig into Joker’s throat anymore which was a plus. He must somewhat trust Joker to put his guard down.

 

Joker felt disappointed and hopeful at the same time. Idealistically, he wanted all of Crow’s memories to come rushing back when he saw his face, but Crow must have felt their bond and hesitated to attack because of it. That’s a good start.

 

“Servant, hurry and get rid of him.” Uriel’s wings shook in irritation that Crow didn’t obey his command. It was currently busy fighting Skull and Queen at the same time.

 

“I...don’t want to.” His hand finally rested by his side as his sword lightly touched the ground.

 

“Something is telling me not to...but why?” Crow muttered to himself. Joker really had to concentrate on his voice to hear those words. He let out a smile.

 

“Then perish with them, you have finally managed to outlive your usefulness. Myriad Slashes.” It barked out.

 

“Crow!” His eyes widened as he cried out to Crow. He should have expected this. The shadow forced his companions to sacrificed themselves so he could be healed.

 

Unfortunately, Joker's words were lost in him. Crow wasn’t paying attention to his surroundings, lost in his own world as he looked off to the side and frowned. Perhaps he was trying to recall a specific memory of Akira and the attack connected with his back. The blood that came from that direct hit was horrifying. He let out a gasp before stumbling and falling on top of Joker. Joker wrapped his arms around around him so he won't slide onto the dirty floor while being mindful of his wounds.

 

‘ _Shit, shit, shit! I should’ve reacted faster. I just got him back, I can’t lose him again. Am I always going to be too late?’_ He thought desperately as he clenched his mask.

 

“ **Yoshitsune!** Hassou Tobi!” Joker didn’t care that he just released an overpowered area attack and that those Angels only need a light curse to knock them out. He didn’t care. He just wanted to get Crow to safety as soon as possible.

 

He mentally tried to remember if he has a Persona that has any healing skills, but realizing that he actually doesn't. He had Mona, Panther, and Queen who had healing skills so that he could concentrate on bringing buffs, debuffs and offense skills.

 

He searched in his pockets, he has medicine that could help.

 

“Crow! I need you to take this!” He brought a life stone to his lips. His mouth didn’t open. Joker looks him in the eyes through the red slits of his mask to see that he fell unconscious. Shit. He has to finish this battle before he could help Crow. He was the only person who has curse magic so he has to be there to help with the fight, but what if a shadow targets Crow while he’s out?

 

“Queen! Switch with me and heal him.” He demanded.

 

She looked at him and nodded. He summoned **Alice** and casted Die For Me! Those Angels quickly vanished into wisp of smoke. Uriel glared at him for destroying them before they could do their job and heal him. Joker smirked. It might looked hollow if someone was looking closely, but he has to keep up the act for his team.

 

“I’ll show you my true strength!” He cried out as he charged at the creature.

 

The battle didn’t last very long. He used **Yoshitsune** and the skill Hassou Tobi. The attack was supposed to be used for multiple enemies, but it was the strongest attack in Joker’s arsenal. It didn’t take long before Uriel was on his knees. He was still lecturing them on rebelling against the ruler was a bad thing, but Joker didn’t want to hear it. He told everyone to go all out and the shadow finally dematerialized.

 

He looked over to Queen who finished healing Crow and was currently on standby.

 

He gave her a small smile. “Thanks for healing him.”

 

“It’s not a problem.”

 

Skull walked over to them as Noir went to check on the other group.

 

“So, what are you planning on doing with him?”

 

“I’m going to wait for him to wake up to see if he’s willing to join us.”

 

“I’m not sure if that’s a good idea leader.” Skull awkwardly scratches the back of his neck.

 

Joker frowned. Skull was alright in Shido’s ship for Crow to rejoin the group again. What changed?

 

“Why not?”

 

“Noir’s spell Amrita Shower didn’t work on him. He might not be against us, but he might not be willing to fight Ya-Ya...Yado—whatever if he’s still currently being brainwashed or whatever.”

 

Joker nodded, it makes sense as much as Joker didn’t like the thought of it. “Queen. What do you think?”

 

“I think Skull’s right. It might be best if we left Crow out of this fight. Hopefully by getting rid of Yaldabaoth, the spell surrounding Crow will also disappear.”

 

“Yeah… I’ll bring him down to Lavenza then. Tell the others when you meet up with them. Slowly keep progressing and I’ll be back quickly.”

 

“Sure.” “See ya in a bit.”

 

Joker held Crow securely as he ran down the steps of the bone structured path. He felt his eyes get watery as he holds him in his arms. He has time to process everything now. Crow’s alive. He’s alive! That whole month after they finished Shido’s palace and defeated his shadow, Akira was wandering around Tokyo, trying to hang out with his friends, keeping himself busy with work, doing anything to avoid thinking about Akechi and his death…it was hard, Akira never had the right time to tell Akechi about his feelings.

 

Akira wanted to call him by his first name and see his eyes widen in shock and pleasure. He wanted to feel his hands without those gloves in the way. He wants to feed him curry and see Akechi’s face when he finds out that Akira made the curry with the ingredients and spices that he thinks that Akechi would like. He wants to visit the planetarium with him and let Akechi show off his knowledge about the stars and the constellations. Most of all, he wants to spend time with him and show him that he accepts him and his true self. Joker wants, no, needs Akechi to know that he was deeply cherished even with all of the events that had happened.

 

He also needs to update the to-do list now that he knows Akechi was alive. Akira let out a watery chuckle as he imagines Akechi’s face when he shows him the list. He could imagine his weak protests as Akira grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him to their next destination. This was only the beginning for their relationship now that they finally see each other without their masks.

 

As his feet finally reached the streets of Shibuya, he barely noticed the people walking around him as he focused on finding Lavenza and the Velvet Room door. It took him a few seconds before he found it and reached her.

 

“Lavenza, can you watch over him for a little while?” He asked, while his hands tightened their grip around Crow. Now that he discovered that Crow was alive, he doesn’t want to let go of him so soon. But he has to, he has to go back to his friends and defeat the stupid god or else they could never be free. Akechi couldn't be free.

 

“Yes, my trickster. Please be careful.” She said with a gentle smile on her face.

 

Joker nodded at her before gently placing him on the floor, leaning him against the glowing door. He hesitated before lifting his hands and placing them firmly against Crow’s black mask, taking it off to reveal Crow’s face. His expression looked peaceful. Joker was thankful for that. While Queen did heal his injury, he was worried that there might have been some residual pain leftover from the attack.

 

Joker’s hand brushed Crow’s hair behind his ear. He tilted Crow’s head up and traced his bottom lip with his thumb. He feels a tad guilty about doing this, but he needs a good luck charm before fighting the final boss (heh, he’s sounding like Futaba now). He’ll ask for forgiveness later when Crow’s awake.  

 

He pressed their lips together and feeling the sensation of Crow’s lips was... exhilarating. He waited a long time for this after all.

 

“Wake up my prince and watch us defeat the creature who tried to imprison you.” He rubbed Akechi's cheek one more before mustering the willpower to take his hand back and stand back up. He nodded once more at Lavenza before leaving them and running back to his friends.

 

If they noticed that his eyes were red when he returned, they didn’t say anything.

 

He touched the handle of his gun, Nataraja, as he walked by. ‘ _Let’s finish this once and for all.’_

 

* * *

 

Their victory felt bittersweet. They defeated Yaldabaoth and restored the world back to normal, but Morgana disappeared along with the Metaverse. He was one of the first friend Akira made when he arrived to Tokyo so his disappearance really affected him deeply.

 

As the Phantom Thieves mourned over Morgana and quietly listened to the public to see if their actions were able to change people’s hearts. They agreed to wait for the results with Shido’s prosecution and meet up at LeBlanc the next day to have the final meeting about the situation. They also want to throw a Christmas party and asked Akira if he could ask Boss if they could reserve the place. Akira gave them a smile and nodded. They all said their goodbyes and left, leaving him by himself. Akira now has the time to look around the area for someone. He looked at the location where the Velvet room door was temporary located at...and he wasn’t there.

 

Akira desperately scanned the faces of the people passing by, trying to find him, but no such luck.

 

 _‘Where did he go? Don’t tell me...he also disappeared with the Metaverse too?!’_ Akira’s eyes widen as his heartbeat raced. They didn’t managed to save him after all? Was he just hugging onto a cognition of him? Akira never physically touched a cognition before, but he felt so real. He was able to summon his Persona.

 

His hands clenched into fists, his nails digging deeply into his palms as he gritted his teeth in frustration. In the end, he couldn’t help him at all. Akira pulled on his hood to cover his face as he prevented himself not to cry in public. There was no Morgana to comfort him this time around.

 

“For someone who just defeated a god, you sure don’t look happy about it.” A familiar smooth voice called out.

 

“...Akechi?” He didn’t realized his eyes were closed shut until he heard his voice. Akira looked up and there he was, standing in his regular uniform with one arm on his hip, looking curiously at him.

 

“Akechi…!” He said in relief as he sped walked towards him and stopped a few feet in front of him.

 

Akechi slowly put his hand by his side, looking a bit awkward as he looked to the side. “...hey.” He murmured.

 

“...I kept my promise, Shido confessed to everything.”

 

He gave a small smile. “I knew you could do it.”

 

He still avoided looking at him. Akira frowned. “What’s wrong? Does your injury still hurt?”

 

“No, your friends did a good job, I don’t feel a thing, not even any type of soreness. Can you thank them for me?” His eyes shifted, never looking directly at Akira.

 

“Thank them yourself.” He said. He wanted Akechi integrate himself with the group, not everyone would welcome him with open arms, but they won’t hate or avoid talking to him. It will take work, but the payout would be worth it.

 

Akechi’s smile twitched. “Somehow, I knew you would say that.”

 

“Hey, come back to LeBlanc with me.”

 

“...I should get back home. It’s December isn’t it?” He looked at the Christmas decorations and lights. “I need to pay my landlord, call my school and work, and explain the situation. I don’t want them to report me as missing or something.”

 

“It’s kind of late for that. Today is Christmas Eve.” Akira stated. He saw Akechi’s eyes widen in disbelief. Finally he faced to look at Akira to see if he was joking.

 

He quickly said, “Don’t worry about it. Do all that tomorrow.” “Tomorrow is Christ—” “Tonight you’re mine.” Akira saw his mouth drop at the comment and grabbed him by the wrist, his hand warmly enclosed around it, feeling the skin that wasn’t covered by his glove or jacket. He was warm. It was a sign that he was alive. Akira couldn’t help but to smile at that thought. It was one thing feeling his presence in the Metaverse and a whole another level to feel it in reality. With this feeling, Akira can finally let go of the last feelings of doubt if Akechi was alive.

 

“Let’s get going before we both get turned into ice popsicles.”

 

Akechi weakly protested, but didn’t struggled or pull away from his touch, making him happy.

 

* * *

 

“It’s pathetic isn’t it. I broke free from Shido’s strings, only to entangle myself with someone else’s.” Akechi said bitterly as he sat and watched Akira make his coffee.

 

“Give yourself more credit, you were being brainwashed and still managed to stop yourself before anything serious had happened.”

 

Akechi kept silent, but his facial expression still looked tortured.

 

Akira gently put his coffee in front of him.

 

“Do you also want something to eat? Now that I think about it, you never tried the curry here have you? Don’t worry, I’ll make it mild, just for you.” He winks.

 

Akechi was about to grab his cup, before blushing at those words.

 

“Oh shut up! Do you and your friends always eat spicy things?” He said before picking up his coffee and taking a long sip from it.

 

“Not really. Haru saw that my class had a spicy takoyaki roulette challenge and wanted to try that with the group. You somehow lucked out and grabbed the spicy one. It was red too, didn’t know why you would pick it.” He shrugs casually.

 

Akechi felt his face grew hotter.

 

“I was too busy following you guys to read the menu properly. I thought it was just food dye to represent the school colors or something…” he muttered.

 

Akira snickered. “School colors…!”

 

“Oh shut up and make the curry already!”

 

“Yes, yes my prince.” Akira laughed before turning his attention to the fridge. They were missing a few items. He closed it and took off his apron.

 

“I need to grab a few things from the store. Come with me.”

 

“Do you need my help?”

 

“Nope, I just want to be with you.”

 

Akechi looked stunned. He seems to snap out of it by blinking rapidly, he looked away as a faint blush appeared on his face. His mouth opened and closed a few times and Akira waited patiently to see what he would say.

 

Akechi finally got his senses back and muttered out, “...sure, if you let me.” He was playing with the handle of his cup. Nervous habit? It was cute now that he wasn’t trying to be the perfect prince.

 

“Of course, I was the one who invited you.” Akira smiled, he reached out to grab his hand and pulled him out of his seat before leading him out the door.

 

“Hey, I can walk you know!”

 

Akira ignored him and focused on the warmth that managed to seep from his glove. He could get used to this he thought as he smiled.

 

* * *

 

The dinner was a quiet affair. Akechi was hesitantly poking his food, trying to see if he could smell the hidden spices Akira might have thrown in his food before finally deeming that it was safe to be consumed. He scooped rice with some curry and took a tentative bite from it. It was good. Delicious to be exact. His eyes widen in pleasure as he chewed.

 

Akira smiled as he sees Akechi digging into his food. He seems to really be enjoying it.

 

“How is it? I altered the normal recipe to suit your taste more.” He grinned.

 

“O-oh. It tastes good.” Akechi stuttered as he felt his heart quicken.

 

“Just good?” Akira pouted.

 

Akechi look away. “...It’s passable. I wouldn’t mind eating it again.”

 

Akira gave a wide grin before he finally tried his food. While Japanese recipes doesn’t include coconut milk, he had to venture and find new recipes to fit Akechi’s taste buds. While Akechi might downplay how much he liked it, his enthusiasm shines through as he dug into his meal. He could just watch him eat the entire meal but that might be a little creepy since they weren’t really friends and friends don’t watch each other eat with as much attention as Akira was currently giving Akechi. Akira really hopes Futaba isn’t watching them at the moment. Maybe he could sneak into her room and delete the footage. He doesn’t need her to have more of his embarrassing moments.

 

* * *

 

“Oh, I remembered I had to do something.”

 

Akira tilted his head...to suddenly get wacked on his forehead. “Ow! What was that for?!” He grunted as he rubbed the injured area.

 

“That was for k-k-kissing me you idiot! Wh-who does that?!” Akechi blushed hotly. The look was very appealing. Was it horrible that Akira want to cradle his cheeks and give him more kisses?

 

“It’s just like a Disney movie where the prince charming kisses the sleeping princess to wake them up. It worked didn’t it?” He smirks.

 

“That’s not how real life works!”

 

“Hm, we should try it again, just to confirm this theory.” He wiggled his eyebrows as he walked closer.

 

He got smacked again. :(

**Author's Note:**

> I thought of this scenario when I read some story. It might have been a story from Pancake Prince or someone else. Their story went in another direction, but I still like this idea so ta-da! Another one-shot. I should be working on my crossover story or AU series, but nah. Merry Christmas (Eve)!
> 
> I started writing this story early this month and somehow work kept me super busy for the last 2 weeks and now I rushed everything to finished for Christmas Eve. DX If you see any errors, please let me know.
> 
> The more I write the dialogue and action scenes, the more I’m tempted to delete the story…


End file.
